Cheating on a college exam may seem like a minor issue, but if it displays a pattern of behavior, it just might be enough to cost you your security clearance.
True or False: Your academic record May Come Back to Haunt You When Applying for a Security Clearance
If you’re applying for a Secret or a Confidential security clearance, you likely won’t see your academic dishonesty come into the security clearance light of day. If you’re applying for a Top Secret security clearance on the other hand, or have any issues appear on your SF-86, you should expect a check in with your academic institutions to be a standard part of your background investigation. Don’t rest on the laurels of what you filled in on the application – expect them to be double checked.
A recent applicant had a few hurdles in his path to a successful security clearance, a key one being his Lebanese origins and close ties with family members. Those issues may have been mitigated, however – but not a pattern of academic dishonesty that included lying on several exams and run-ins with deans and academic staff.
Cheat on your exams once, shame on you. Cheat on your exams multiple times – and you can probably kiss your chances of a clearance good-bye, unless you can display passage of time and some serious mitigating behavior.
Reliability and trustworthiness are key aspects of the security clearance process – and academic dishonesty is an issue of reliability and trustworthiness. If you’re willing to lie to professors for the sake of a grade, what other compromises will you make? Keep in mind, the security clearance process isn’t just about vetting for the next Aldrich Ames – it’s about ensuring those with access to America’s secrets are up to the task. If your job includes protecting classified information, the ability to follow rules – even those that seem arbitrary and capricious – is a must.
The Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) case noted the applicant’s Lebanese family members and foreign ties, but it lingered over the issue of academic dishonesty. The whole person concept can work in an applicant’s favor in many cases – the good issues outweigh the bad when the totality of one’s character is considered. But it can also work the opposite way – a pattern of lying and a lot of foreign-born relatives tip the scales toward a denial of eligibility.
When it comes to issuing security clearances, the government doesn’t need to take risks. The issues of academic dishonest took place just three years prior to the security clearance application – there simply wasn’t enough positive character development or growth that could be displayed. The applicant couldn’t claim that it was a momentary lapse in judgment, since the academic issues recurred.
True: Your Academic Record Will Come Into Play in a security clearance application.
Your security clearance background investigation includes reference checks, and also verification of your academic history. Don’t lie about your academic history – and if academic dishonesty is a part of your college career, be prepared to mitigate it when you apply for a security clearance.
